You know I love music that defies genre categorization. Well, just as good is an artist who’s music fits comfortably into multiple musical genres.

ASTRONAUTALIS

While most often described as a HIP-HOP artist, ASTRONAUTALIS’s live band sound and angst ridden lyrics make his music just as much ROCK as anything else. With his soulful choruses and southern undertones, he would also fit well into any contemporary BLUES playlist. What we’re clearly talking about here is a diverse artist with a unique sound. He has been described as “if BECK were a decade or so younger and had grown up more heavily immersed in Hip-Hop”. Astronautalis, himself, wimsically describes his sound as “Historical Fiction Hip-Hop”.

Along with his genre bending style, Astronautalis also possesses incredible passion and tremendous skill as an MC. His raspy voice sounds of a person who has led a long, hard life. Whether he actually has or not, I don’t know. Perhaps that’s where the “historical fiction” part comes in. The feeling that he puts into his music, and energy that comes out of him during live shows make it clear that he uses his songs as an outlet for frustration and his live shows are like therapy sessions. Posessing a well developed skill for FREESTYLE RAPPING, he will often perform a new song, made on the spot, based upon topics chosen by members of his audience. All of these elements combine to produce a must-see live performance. Check out the below TRAILER for a forthcoming documentary on Astronautalis. It’ll give you a much better idea, of what he’s all about, than anything that I can write here.

Now, grab a FREE TUNE from his latest album, THIS IS OUR SCIENCE. It’s titled DIMITRI MENDELEEV, named after the chemist that created the periodic table.